


Ready Player Two

by perfect_plan



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Video & Computer Games, nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 11:23:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3288536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfect_plan/pseuds/perfect_plan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Bucky wants to be doing right now is to be standing out in the freezing cold waiting to buy a video game for his kid sister. The cute guy stood in line in front of him may have made it all worthwhile though...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready Player Two

Bucky shivered and tried to huddle further into his jacket, annoyed at himself for agreeing to stand in the freezing cold for _four fucking hours_ just so his stupid sister could have some stupid video game a day before all of her friends did. He was near the front of the line, at least. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, wishing he'd been smart enough to think to bring some gloves with him and tapped out a text with numb fingers.

 **BUCKY:** You owe me big time, I fucking swear

It was less than a minute before Becca replied and Bucky would have to remember to tell his mom that she had been up at 11:40pm playing World Of Skyrim, or whatever the hell it was she played with her friends, on a school night for future blackmail use. Bucky loved his sister and he loved that she was fourteen and obsessed with video games and not (he assumed) doing what most other fourteen year-old girls would be doing and sending his Protective Big Brother instincts into overdrive but it was cold and late and he was grumpy as fuck.

 **BECCA:** Do I need to remind you that YOU owed ME? Besides, the alternative was me sneaking out to get it myself and Mom would take away ALL of my consoles and shit if she found out. I'm eternally grateful to you :) :) :)

Bucky clenched his jaw. He _did_ owe her so he couldn't be mad, not really, and he knew he would stand out here for six hours doing the same thing if the end result was to see her happy. But at this moment in time, that wasn't the point.

 **BUCKY:** You're a little shit, you know that?

 **BECCA:** LOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU

Bucky cursed as he attempted to write another text and his phone fell out of his grasp and skittered to the ground. Stupid cold fingers. He picked it up and checked the screen. It wasn't cracked at least. He huffed out an annoyed sigh and bounced on the spot. It was fucking _freezing_ ; he couldn't believe that people actually _chose_ to stand out in the cold for this long to buy a goddamned video game. He had never really been into them himself; he had watched his friends play when he was younger, happy to sit and read while they beat the shit out of each other in Tekken or argued over what weapons to play with in multiplayer Goldeneye. He had just never been all that interested in joining in.

Becca had been obsessed with video games ever since he had made the mistake of buying her an old second-hand SNES when she was seven and that was it - she had been hooked. She now owned more consoles - new and old - than was healthy and he lost track of the games she brought. He had indulged her in her interest though (case in point, him standing here freezing his balls off) as there were eleven years between them and he had never wanted their relationship to be distant because of the age gap and they got on well, which he knew pleased his parents, his mom especially. Becca was a great kid though; funny, hard-working at school and smart as a whip and Bucky would do anything for her, although he'd never admit that to the brat.

The wind was picking up and he groaned again as an icy blast chilled his face. He shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and whined loudly. Bucky hadn't been paying all that much attention to the people stood in line with him but the guy in front of him suddenly turned around and looked at him.

"Are you okay? You're making a lot of weird noises."

Bucky frowned at the guy. He was shorter and thinner than him, bundled in a black pea-coat and a huge blue scarf, blond hair poking out from beneath a black beanie. He wasn't a huge fan of people he didn't know talking to him outright like this. It was a bad habit but he was quick to get defensive and his friends were forever chiding him for being too judgemental on people before giving them a chance. He had been screwed over enough times by assholes he had thought were his friends in the past though to let himself get too trusting with anyone new. That was probably why he didn't have many close friends, although the few friends he did have were worth it. It was probably also why he hadn't had a date in almost a year. He knew he had to start being less guarded with everyone he met but right now, he was cold and tired and not feeling too friendly.

"I'm stood in the freezing cold at night waiting to buy a dumb video game that isn't even for me. What makes you think I would _possibly_ be okay in this situation?"

Usually his brash manor would have had anyone else either calling him a dick and turning away again or gawping at him for being so rude but the blond guy just laughed pleasantly.

"Fair enough," he said. He eyed Bucky's jacket, woefully unsuitable for the current weather, and the way his long hair whipped around his face. "I guess you kind of came out unprepared for this, huh?"

Bucky narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I guess so." He was about to make some snarky remark to the guy about minding his own business when he dug around in the messenger bag he was carrying and pulled out an extra pair of gloves.

"Here; I have really bad circulation so I usually wear two pairs but my hands aren't so bad tonight. You can borrow these if you like."

That threw Bucky a little and he felt bad for acting so hostile. It was a small act of kindness, considerate and genuine and his face softened. His hands _were_ freezing.

"Thanks," he said and took the gloves, pulling them on eagerly. "Sorry for being a dick."

The blond guy shook his head. "I didn't think you were."

Bucky glanced at the guy; his cheeks were pink from the cold and he had huge icy blue eyes. He was studying Bucky with interest.

Bucky felt like he should at least attempt to have a polite conversation with him considering the fact that he was now wearing a pair of his gloves. "So...you do this often? Stand in the cold waiting for a store to open in the middle of the night to get a video game?"

The guy laughed again, like everything Bucky said was hilarious and not vaguely passive-aggressive. "I actually do. It's kind of part of my job. I'm Steve." He held out a gloved hand and Bucky shook it.

"Bucky. What kind of job do you have to deserve this? It had better pay well." He shivered and huddled into his jacket again.

"I'm a video game blogger and reviewer. Usually I get any new games for free but I couldn't get a copy of this one, so here I am. Why are you here?"

Bucky snorted. "My kid sister is a gaming freak and she's turning fifteen in a couple of days and wants this game before all of her friends so she can show off. She's cool like that."

Steve smiled wide and Bucky started to lighten up a little. "Well, that's very nice of you to brave these conditions for something you obviously have zero interest in. So what do you do when you're not being a good big brother?"

Bucky held back a smile. Despite his best efforts to remain detached, Steve was pretty cheery and it was kind of infectious. Almost. "I'm a mechanic."

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, that's cool. I'm totally useless when it comes to car stuff; I couldn't tell you what a landing gear or a turbine looked like if someone was holding a gun to my head."

Bucky finally laughed, unable to hold it back. "Considering those are both parts of a plane you'd be shit out of luck if you tried."

Steve laughed with him. "Seriously though, that must be pretty awesome. Being able to fix things as complicated as that."

"Yeah, it is. I like it, anyway. I...uh, I actually used to work for NASCAR."

"Holy crap, really?" Steve's grin was huge. "That's amazing."

Bucky nodded. It was something he was proud of but he didn't use it to impress people that often. Yet, here he was using it impress this guy he had been speaking to for all of five minutes and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed for doing so. "Yeah, it was great. But it was pretty demanding and meant living away from my family so I decided to move back here. My friend Tony owns the garage I work in."

"Well, if I ever get a car and the landing gear breaks, I'll know who to come to." Steve smiled at him again and Bucky chuckled, trying his hardest not to let his guard down but failing miserably. This guy was kind of neat.

"So you actually make a living out of blogging about video games?"

Steve reached up and took off his hat, scratching his head. "Yeah, just about. I eat a _lot_ of instant noodles. It's good though; I get a lot of regular paid work writing for various websites and I have my own YouTube channel which is sort of popular. A lot of my subscribers are pretty awesome and donate whenever they can."

"My sister would go nuts if she heard that. I think that's the kind of thing she wants to do. That or game development."

Steve pulled his hat back on, his messy crop of hair covered once again. "It's hard; there's a ton of people doing the same thing but if you can find a decent shtick that no-one else has, it's a pretty sweet way to make a living."

"You've always been into gaming?"

"Yeah, I got sick a lot as a kid. Missed a ton of school but just about managed to keep my grades up. Video games were kind of my thing to stop me from going insane. I think I would've been more of a mess without them. I'm lucky that I got to turn my obsessive interests into a job." He gave a little laugh and bit his lip as if considering whether to say something. "I'm...I'm trying to write a book at the moment too."

Bucky smiled; it looked like he wasn't the only one trying to impress. "Oh yeah?"

Steve nodded, his cheeks turning pink and not from the cold. "Yeah. It's a history of survival horror games but with other cool bits and pieces scattered throughout and various blog posts I've written. It's nothing that hasn't already been done before but I hope I'm putting my own spin on it."

"That's pretty neat. Survival horror is scary games, right? My sister loves those. I never really understood that whole thing; why would you deliberately want to scare the shit out of yourself?"

Steve chuckled. "Yeah, well that's kind of the appeal of them. Your sister sounds pretty cool. I take it she likes this series?" He jerked a thumb towards the store.

Bucky snorted. "Apparently so. I just know she wants this game so I'm buying it."

"Oh, wait a sec..." Steve dug around in his bag again and pulled a few thin magazine-sized books out of his bag. He handed one to Bucky. "Even though I couldn't get a copy of the game, the developers sent me a few of these. They're limited edition art books; your sister might get a kick out of it."

Bucky took the book and eyed it; Becca would _definitely_ like this. She had been talking about trying to work towards being a concept artist for a while now. "Wow, that's...really nice of you. Can I give you some money for it?"

Steve waved a hand. "Nah, I was planning on keeping one for myself and running a giveaway on my blog for the rest. I'm happy knowing that one will be going to a good home at least." He smiled again and it was sincere and warm.

"Thank you," Bucky said. "She'll really love this."

Steve bit his lip again - Bucky thought it must be a nervous tic - and reached into his bag, fumbling with a small stack of business cards wrapped with an elastic band. "Here; let me know what she thought of it. I could keep her up to date if I get any other cool stuff."

Bucky took the card and grinned. "Are you sure? She wouldn't leave you alone if you made that kind of offer."

Steve shrugged, smiling brightly again. "Anything to help out a future video game developer."

There was a clatter of unlocking doors and the people ahead of them started to murmur excitedly. Bucky tensed, remembering why he was here.

"Well, I guess this is it. Good luck," Steve said.

"Yeah, you too. Thanks again for the book."

Then the store doors opened and everyone went nuts. Bucky managed to fight his way into grabbing a copy for Becca ("Get the PS4 version, not the Xbox One version!") and breathed out a sigh of relief when the game was paid for and he was out of the store, back in the freezing cold. He looked around again for Steve but he couldn't see him anywhere. Bucky was a little disappointed but headed home, not quite wanting to admit that Steve had made an impression on him. It wasn't until he was back in his apartment that he realised he was still wearing Steve's gloves. He remembered the business card in his jeans pocket and wondered if Steve not asking for his gloves back had maybe been a deliberate move.

***

The next day was Friday and Bucky had the day off; he headed over to his parent's house early to give Becca her game before she left for school, a little tired but looking forward to her reaction when he gave her the art book. It wasn't her birthday until tomorrow but she may as well have it now.

"Oh my god, gimme gimme gimme," she cried when Bucky walked through the door, running up to him and making grabby hands.

Bucky held the game and book above his head. "Holy shit, calm the hell down!" He suddenly glanced around; his parents hated it when he cursed in front of Becca, even though she had a mouth like a sailor (something she'd mostly picked up from him) and could give him a run for his money in the colorful language department,

"Don't worry, they left for work. Come _on_ , Buck. I'm dying here." Becca made a pained face and Bucky couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you say?"

Becca huffed in annoyance. " _Thank you_."

"And?"

"And you're the best brother ever, come on!!"

"It's technically not even your birthday until tomorrow so - "

"BUCKY!"

He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head and handed her the game, smiling when she made a squeal of delight and hugged him hard. "I cannot wait to play this. School is going to be _torture_ today. Thanks Buck, seriously."

"My pleasure. Here." He handed her the art book Steve had given to him. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

"What the...? Where the fuck did you get this?"

Bucky nudged her. "Hey, watch the fucking language."

"No, Bucky - seriously, where did you get this? There are only like a hundred and fifty of these and they're going for $200 on eBay." She was flipping through the book and making more happy noises. "Kitty is going to _freak_ when she sees that I have this!"

Bucky choked out a laugh of disbelief. "Really? $200? Jesus. Well, that makes me glad I got it for free."

Becca gave him a narrow-eyed stare. "How the hell did you manage to get this for _free_?"

He walked over to the couch and flopped down on it. "I got talking to this guy in the line at the store and he had some because he blogs about games. It was really good of him if they're going for $200. _I_ wouldn't be handing them out to total strangers if I could sell them for that much, that's for sure."

"A blogger? What was his name?"

Bucky ran a hand through his hair. "Steve Something. Um, hold on..." He dug around in his jeans pocket and pulled out the business card. "Steve Rogers."

He almost shit his pants when Becca suddenly screamed and flailed. " _Steve Rogers_? Steve _Fucking_ Rogers?!"

Bucky held his hands up. "What is wrong with you? Jeez!"

Becca ran off towards her bedroom leaving Bucky confused and with his ears ringing, only to come running back a minute later with her laptop. She thunked onto the couch next to him.

"Was this the guy? Steve Rogers?" She pointed excitedly to the screen.

Bucky took her laptop and looked at the page; it was Steve's blog - Geeky Gamer Guy - and sure enough, there was his picture on the header. It was a selfie but he looked kind of awkward in it and, Bucky noticed although he was trying not to, very cute. He also lived in Brooklyn.

"Yeah, that's him."

Becca shrieked again and before Bucky could yell at her for giving him tinnitus, she started to babble. "Buck, this guy is like the funniest gamer _ever_. His Let's Play series is like my favorite YouTube channel and he's _amazing_ , oh my god, you have no idea. His blog is fucking _awesome_ and I can't believe you got to meet him! Why didn't you text me and let me know? This is so unfair!"

"Yeah, because I know _exactly_ what the hell you're talking about. How was I supposed to know he was a big deal? He was just some guy who lent me his gloves because my hands were cold and we talked for ten minutes and then he gave me that book."

Becca closed her laptop and gave Bucky a look of disgust. "It's times like this when I wish you were at least _halfway_ cool."

"Hey, I'm cool. Just because I don't play dumb-ass kid's games - "

"They are _not_ for kids!"

" - doesn't mean I'm not cool. I was going to give you a ride to school but you know what? I don't think I will now." He folded his arms.

Becca groaned and wrapped herself around him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. You're awesome. I love my game and I _love_ my book." He knew that would get her; she relished any chance to pull up to school in Bucky's car and see the look on the other kid's faces.

Bucky smirked and stood up, yanking her up with him. "Come on, asshole."

He listened with amusement as she continued to talk about Steve the whole car journey; apparently he was really popular in the gaming world and was well-known and liked for his self-deprecating humour.

"So what was he like? In real-life?" Becca asked as she rummaged in her bag for some gum.

"He seemed nice. Funny. I wasn't speaking to him for very long." Bucky kept his eyes on the road. He didn't add that he thought Steve was also very attractive.

"Uh-huh." Becca was smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She offered him some gum, that shit-eating grin still on her face. "You should watch his YouTube videos; even if you're not into gaming, they're still really funny."

Bucky shrugged and slowed down as they approached Becca's school. "Maybe. If I have time."

Becca waved as she saw her best friend Kitty and Bucky couldn't help but feel pleased at the admiring and surprised looks some of the other high schoolers gave his car. _I'm pathetic_ , he thought. He watched as his sister gathered up her bag and books and turned to give him the smile he liked the best - the genuine Becca smile that made her look young and wily and happy. He felt a swell of love for her and smiled back.

"Have a good day. I'll see you tomorrow for your birthday dinner?" They had a tradition in the Barnes family that every birthday consisted of a family dinner - just the four of them - favorite meal and desserts included.

"Sure thing. Thanks again, Buck. I really do appreciate that you waited all that time in the cold to get me my present."

"Yeah, I'm never doing that again." He totally would, though.

Becca gave him a punch on the arm and left the car, running over to Kitty and pulling the art book out of her bag. Bucky shook his head as he heard Kitty shriek as loudly as Becca had done earlier when she saw it. _Teenage girls are weird_ , he thought as he drove off.

***

Later that afternoon, after he had finished tinkering with his car and after having thought about it all day, he switched on his own laptop and went to Steve's YouTube channel to see what all the fuss was about. He felt a strange sense of trepidation and anticipation as he did and felt like an idiot; it wasn't like he was about to watch porn with the danger of being caught in the act or anything. It was a fucking video game blog. Nonetheless, his stomach fluttered slightly when he saw Steve's page, that same awkward-cute selfie as his avatar. Shit, he had a _ton_ of views and subscribers on his channel. Bucky frowned and scrolled through the videos; Becca had mentioned the Let's Play videos so he decided to choose one of those. Okay, he had heard of a few of the games listed at least. He clicked on Resident Evil - the original PlayStation version, he had watched his friends play that back in the day - and sat back. The video was pretty much just Steve playing through the game and talking over it and before Bucky knew it, he was spending the rest of the afternoon watching video after video and laughing his ass off.

Steve was hilarious; his narration as he played was natural and jovial and he also threw in a ton of interesting trivia and observations about each game he went through. Bucky could see why he was so popular; there was something immensely likable in the way he chattered and he just came across as a funny, sincere guy. Bucky went to his blog and read a few of the entries; Steve wrote about everything involving video games - narratives, soundtracks, history, characters - and Bucky found himself drawn in. His writing was as funny and easy-going as he himself seemed to be and he read blog post after blog post. After a couple of hours, he went back to Steve's YouTube channel.

Okay, he definitely liked this guy and wanted to get to know him better. This totally wasn't how Bucky usually met someone; more often than not, he got set up with friends of friends and it ended in one of three ways: Drinks and nothing, drinks and maybe sex and never seeing said guy again or drinks and a relationship that never lasted too long. He wasn't a bad person by any means, he just wasn't very good at the whole dating thing, was even worse when it came to relationships. He wasn't the most outgoing of guys and that seemed to put people off; they got offended when they thought he wasn't interested in what they had to say when he was - he just didn't make a big song and dance about it. That had been part of why he'd grown so defensive over the years; it hurt to think that people thought he was an asshole when he wasn't. Okay, he _had_ acted like a bit of an asshole last night when Steve had first started to talk to him but he hadn't seemed to have cared and had made an effort with him. Bucky was glad he had made an effort back.

He suddenly thought about the book Steve had given him and the fact that he still had his gloves in his jacket pocket. He paused the video he had been watching and fished the business card out of his jeans again. He considered it for a few minutes and then started an email.

\----------

 **From:** Bucky Barnes (buck.b@gmail.com)

 **To:** Steve Rogers (steven.rogers@geekygamerguy.com)

Hey Steve,

I'm the guy you met last night at the video game store. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the book you gave me, my sister went crazy when she saw it. Turns out she's also a huge fan of yours and freaked out when she heard that I'd met you - that totally made her day and I think I got a few extra Cool Big Brother Points because of it.

Thanks again and it was nice meeting you yesterday.

Bucky

\----------

He read over the message and hit send before he could second guess himself; why was he so nervous? It was a perfectly innocuous message thanking Steve for a kind gesture. Shit, he didn't say anything about the gloves. He sat for a few minutes deciding whether to send a follow up message or not when his email notification pinged. Bucky's eyebrows shot up - it was Steve. That was quick.

\----------

 **From:** Steve Rogers (steven.rogers@geekygamerguy.com)

 **To:** Bucky Barnes (buck.b@gmail.com)

Hey Bucky!

Really glad to hear she liked the book and if you looked good because of it, bonus :P Enjoyed talking with you last night. Hope you aren't working too hard fixing those landing gears :)

Steve

\----------

Bucky couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Okay, he barely knew the guy but he already felt himself starting to like Steve more with each interaction; should he just go for it and ask him out? No, that would look totally weird and if Steve wasn't into guys and could end up being really awkward. But...had he been checking Bucky out last night? He couldn't tell. It had been so cold his memories were a jumble. But he had the gloves. That could be a way in. He suddenly had an idea.

\----------

 **From:** Bucky Barnes (buck.b@gmail.com)

 **To:** Steve Rogers (steven.rogers@geekygamerguy.com)

Hey Steve,

I just realised that I still have your gloves. I'm taking my sister out for lunch at her favorite sushi place on Sunday; I'd like to thank you for everything and buy you lunch too if you like Japanese food? I know Becca would love to meet you. If not, no problem - just let me know how I can return your gloves to you.

Bucky

\----------

Okay, so that was a little white lie; he _hadn't_ made plans to take Becca out for lunch on Sunday but he wouldn't have to try too hard to convince her to go, especially if it was for sushi and _especially_ if he was paying for it. He chewed on his thumbnail nervously and then snorted at himself. This was ridiculous. What the hell was he doing? But then his email pinged again.

\----------

 **From:** Steve Rogers (steven.rogers@geekygamerguy.com)

 **To:** Bucky Barnes (buck.b@gmail.com)

Wow, that's incredibly nice of you - I'd love to! Okay, that may have seemed a little too eager but I don't get out of my apartment much and I love sushi. My cell phone number is on my business card, just text me when and where.

Look forward to it!

Steve

\----------

Bucky smiled to himself. Okay, so this was happening. It was maybe about time that he started to let his defences down a little.

***

"What the hell? It's my birthday! Why do I have to do the goddamned dishes?!" It was Saturday evening and they had just finished their family meal for Becca's birthday.

"Rebecca!" Mrs Barnes exclaimed. "Your language is getting worse and worse. Now, please do the dishes. You know that birthdays don't equal exemption from chores and any more swearing and you're grounded, I mean it."

Becca gave Mrs Barnes an exasperated groan. "But _hell_ and _goddamned_ aren't even swearing! Now, if I'd have said shit or f - "

Mrs Barnes pointed at her, daring her to go on. "Go ahead and say it if you want to be in a world of hurt."

Bucky gave a snigger from the dining table and missed the warning look from his dad a second too late.

Mrs Barnes pointed at him too. " _You_ can help her. I don't need to guess where she got her potty mouth from."

"What?! Mom, I'm nearly 26 years old; you can't _make_ me do the d - "

"James. Rebecca. Dishes. Now." That was all they needed and they both went to the kitchen without another word.

After squabbling for a few minutes over who was washing and who was drying, the Barnes kids (Bucky always felt like a kid when it came to his mom) fell into companionable silence as they stood at the sink. Bucky realised he still hadn't told Becca about the whole lunch thing tomorrow.

"Hey, I thought we could go out for sushi before you go to your party with Kitty tomorrow. What do you say?" He was pleased with how nonchalant he sounded.

Becca turned and looked at him, beaming. "Birthday lunch?"

"As in I'll be paying? Yeah, birthday lunch." He didn't mention that Steve would be there otherwise she'd get too excited. And suspicious. He rued the day he'd ever underestimated how perceptive a fourteen (sorry, _fifteen_ ) year-old could be when it came to his love-life.

"Awesome! Thanks Buck." She blew a handful of suds at him, laughing as they caught him square in the face.

***

Bucky was suddenly a lot more nervous than he'd anticipated as he parked his car and he and Becca headed to the sushi restaurant on Sunday. He straightened the collar of his shirt as they walked down the street and chewed his thumbnail. Becca was on her phone texting and he had to yank her out of the way a few times so she didn't collide with other pedestrians.

"So why couldn't Kitty come with us? She would have paid for her own lunch."

Bucky cleared his throat and tidied his hair as best he could. He really should get it cut. "Uh, because someone else is going to be there."

Becca finally looked up from her phone and gave him a curious stare. "Who?"

Bucky let out a breath. "Steve Rogers."

Becca's jaw dropped and then she grabbed him and squealed. "What the fuck?! Oh my god, what...why is he - " She stopped dead in the street suddenly and her face cracked into a delighted smile. "Holy crap, you _like_ him! I knew it!" She cackled with laughter.

Bucky dragged her into a bookstore doorway. "Becca, _do not_ say anything to him. I mean it. I don't even...I have no idea what I'm doing. Just please - _don't_ make a big thing about this and make me look like an idiot in front of him."

Becca looked insulted. "Give me some credit, Bucky. I wouldn't do that to you. I might only be fifteen but I care about you being happy. You think I haven't noticed that you haven't been on a date in like forever? I _want_ you to find someone nice."

Bucky felt a pang of guilt mixed with surprise. He knew she was a smart kid but it was when she said things like this, things he didn't expect, that he was proud to have her for his sister. "I'm sorry. That's...I appreciate that. I don't even know what to talk about with him which is why I thought to bring you along. At least you two have the whole gaming thing."

Becca hugged him suddenly. "You're such a moron. A cute pathetic moron. Taking your little sister with you on a date."

"Ew, no. It's not...this isn't a date - "

She took his hand and pulled him back onto the street. "Come on, I want sushi and I cannot wait to meet Steve."

He sighed and let himself be dragged along. "Hey, how do you know that I haven't been on a date for so long anyway?"

"Tony tells me stuff when I'm waiting for you to finish work." Becca often came to the garage after school to do her homework and get a ride back with Bucky when their parents were working late.

Bucky made a disgusted grunt. "That's the last time I let you hang out with that prick. My love-life is _not_ something I want my boss and my little sister talking about."

Becca laughed. "Oh, get over yourself. Besides, I like that everyone at the garage treats me like an adult."

He was about to protest again when he saw Steve up ahead waiting for them outside of the restaurant. Becca gasped and was suddenly very much fifteen again.

"Oh my god, that's him!" She covered her mouth and shrieked.

"Becca, please calm down. He's a blogger, not a boy band." But it was no good. She was gone.

Bucky whined and tidied his hair again. This had been the _worst_ idea.

***

Steve was amazing; he was gracious and pleasant and a little flustered that Becca made such a big deal about his blogging and his YouTube videos.

"Oh my god, your Outlast Let's Play is hands-down the funniest fucking thing - "

"Becca, swearing!" Bucky said through gritted teeth, hoping that no-one else in the restaurant had heard. Steve just giggled.

" - funniest thing I've ever seen. Me and my best friend Kitty have watched it like eight times. Oh, and your The Last Of Us Let's Play had me in tears. Like full-on _sobbing_ so thanks a bunch for that."

She pushed Steve lightly and he laughed again. "I'm sorry. That game makes me an emotional wreck. I get so invested in the characters."

Bucky got the feeling that he didn't meet a lot of his fans in real-life but once Becca calmed down, they settled into a conversation about video games that Bucky didn't even try to follow. He didn't mind that Becca had pretty much high-jacked the entire lunch not-date; she was having the time of her life and Steve seemed to be enjoying talking with her too. He occasionally glanced up at Bucky and smiled when Bucky rolled his eyes and gave him a shrug.

After an intense discussion about the Silent Hill series, Becca jumped up to answer her phone and headed to the bathroom.

"Wow, I'm so sorry about that. She's...got a lot of energy." Bucky looked at Steve apologetically.

Steve laughed and took a gulp of his iced tea. "No, it's okay. She really knows her stuff; it's pretty insane."

"Yeah, she's enthusiastic. I'll give her that. Oh, here..." Bucky pulled Steve's gloves out of his pocket and handed them over. "Thanks again for the other night. I was being a grouchy bastard and I might have been a little...not nice at first. I kind of get defensive for stupid reasons."

Steve took his gloves back with a strange little grin. "I didn't notice, to be honest. I just thought you were cold and cu - "

He was cut off when Becca came back and started to babble away again. "Kitty's on her way to pick me up but I didn't tell her about Steve because then she'll want to come in and we'll never make it to the party on time."

"Is it a birthday party?" Steve asked.

Becca winced. "Please. Birthday parties are for kids; this is a LAN party."

Steve laughed and held his hands up. "I stand corrected. Sounds cool - I've only ever been to one LAN party and that was a few years ago. What are you playing?"

"I have _no_ idea - we're going in blind but whatever it is, I'm sure I'll kick ass."

Bucky leaned across the table. "She's modest, too." Becca ruffled up Bucky's hair.

"Bucky mentioned that you might want to get into game development?" Steve said.

Becca nodded and sighed. "If I could. I'd love to be a concept artist but I don't know if my work would be up to scratch."

"Don't sell yourself short. My friend Natasha is a concept artist at Rockstar Games - I'm sure she'd be happy to Skype you and give you some advice if I asked her?"

Becca's eyes practically bugged out of her head. She lunged across the table and gave Steve a hug. "Oh my god, that would be _amazing_!" She bounced in her seat and Bucky couldn't help but laugh.

"See what you've started?" he said to Steve.

Becca's phone chirped and she glanced at the screen and made a disappointed noise. "Okay, I have to go. It was awesome to meet you, Steve. Thank you for the art book; I've already made _so_ many people in school jealous."

"You're welcome, Becca."

Bucky stood up with her. "Give me a call if you want to be picked up. Don't leave the party, stay with Kitty and _don't_ talk to any weird guys."

Becca groaned and gave Bucky a withering look. "Kitty's mom is coming with us, Dickwad. Besides, you know me better than that."

"Doesn't mean I can't worry, Douchebag. Text me when you get there. Have a great time and I'll see you next week."

They hugged each other and Becca leaned up to whisper in his ear. "He's gorgeous and I think he likes you. Go for it."

Bucky gave her a dirty look as she walked out of the door, waving to them both. He turned around and sat back down opposite Steve, suddenly nervous without Becca's manic teenage energy to diffuse the atmosphere. But Steve just smiled.

"She's really nice."

Bucky grinned. "Yeah, she's pretty cool for a kid sister, I guess."

"I hope you don't mind me asking but how many years are between the two of you? Sorry if that's a little inappropriate..."

Bucky waved a hand. "It's fine; we get it all the time. I'm eleven years older than her. My mom had me pretty young - when she was eighteen - and then Becca came along when Mom was nearly thirty. She was a...surprise. But a good one. We all like her."

Steve chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell. You seem to get along really well."

"It would have been easy for us not to be close. I mean, she was only seven when I went off to college but I came home for every single weekend and vacation. I wanted to be a brother to her."

Steve looked a little sad. "That's really nice. I'm an only child so I don't know what it's like to have a sibling."

Bucky smiled softly. "It's...it's good. She can be annoying as hell too...she's a teenager...but...yeah. I'd do anything for her."

"Do you have anywhere you need to be or can you stay for a while?" Steve asked.

"Oh...I can stay. I don't have any plans."

Steve grinned. "Awesome. So, tell me about yourself. All I know so far is that you're a mechanic and your sister is a gamer."

Bucky took a breath and started to speak. He had been worried that they wouldn't have anything to talk about but they talked about everything - music, movies, books - and Bucky felt like he was actually on a real date for the first time in his life, not just some hook-up that would lead to nothing. Steve was funny and honest and he didn't seem to mind when Bucky answered questions in single words; he just told weird little anecdotes and got Bucky laughing again. It was getting later and Bucky didn't want to keep Steve from any work he had, although he could quite happily have stayed here with him for longer.

When Bucky had paid the check (Steve thanked him a million times at least) they stood out on the street. It was getting cold again and Steve wrapped his huge blue scarf around his neck.

"Thanks so much for this; I had a great time. As much as I love being able to play video games all day, I forget how nice it is to be able to interact with real people every once in a while." Steve smiled again and it made Bucky a little dizzy.

He shoved his hands into his pockets again. "Yeah, it was...I had a good time too."

They stood and looked everywhere but at each other for a few minutes before Steve indicated in the direction of the subway. "Well, I'm heading this way. Bye, Bucky."

"Wait, I can give you a lift? If you like?" Bucky blurted it out before he had a chance to think.

Steve looked pleased that Bucky had asked, but whether it was because he didn't want to catch the train or because he wanted to spend more time with him, he didn't know. Bucky hoped it was the latter. "It's no trouble?"

Bucky shook his head. "It's no trouble." He didn't even know where Steve lived but he didn't care.

They walked off towards the parking garage and started to chat again. Bucky wondered if he could work up enough guts to ask Steve out again between now and dropping him off at his place but he could feel his resolve wavering. When they got to Bucky's car, Steve stopped and gasped. Bucky looked up, his hand halfway to unlocking the driver side door.

"Oh...my...god..." Steve said, his face delighted. "You drive Bumblebee!"

Bucky huffed an embarrassed little laugh and patted his yellow and black 1977 Chevrolet Camero. "Yes - I like Transformers, okay? It's my one geeky vice. But I fixed this up myself completely from scratch so if you're going to be impressed, be impressed by that."

Steve laughed and suddenly raced around to the driver's side. "Please tell me you have an Autobot symbol on the wheel..." He made a disappointed sound when there wasn't one.

Bucky broke into a fit of laughter. "Come on, get in. It's freezing."

Steve raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly as he walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door. "I have some gloves you could borrow...?"

Bucky stopped for a second and eyed Steve before turning away, trying to hide the smile on his own face. The whole thing with the gloves _had_ been on purpose.

It turned out that Steve didn't live all that far from Bucky's own apartment and he parked in his usual spot, Steve insisting that it wasn't a long walk home for him. They sat in Bucky's Camero for a few minutes.

Steve cleared his throat with a squeak. "Thanks again. For today. I can't believe I got to ride in a Transformer."

Bucky smiled and tapped the steering wheel. "You're welcome."

"Um, can I return the favor? Maybe...take you out to dinner on Wednesday?"

Bucky looked over to Steve and couldn't quite make his voice work.

"I mean, I could leave my gloves with you again if that would get you to - "

"Yes. I like to. Dinner with you." Bucky held back a groan and slapped himself mentally but Steve just smiled that infuriatingly adorkable smile and pulled out his phone.

"Here, give me your number. I'll give you a call."

Bucky was buzzing by the time he got back to his apartment. If today wasn't a date then Wednesday definitely was. He checked his phone and saw a text from Becca, received a few hours ago.

 **BECCA:** Sooooooooo....how'd it go?

 **BUCKY:** How was the game party? Did you win all the things?

 **BECCA:** I made it to the last round of the tournament and got beat on a technicality. Don't try and throw me off the scent WTF happened

 **BUCKY:** We're going out on Wednesday. And that's all you're getting because you're my sister and it weirds me out talking to you about this stuff

 **BECCA:** :D :D :D I'm totally going to get a ton of free games when you two are shacked up

 **BUCKY:** >:(

***

Bucky was starting to get nervous by Tuesday afternoon. He still hadn't heard anything from Steve and was steadily losing the confidence to make the first move and text him. He was at work, trying his best to save an old Impala from the scrapheap; Tony had insisted that the thing was doomed but Bucky just saw that as a challenge to prove him wrong. Tony had a very annoying habit of thinking he was right all the time.

He had just wiped his hands on his work pants - this car seemed to _bleed_ oil - when Clint shouted over to him.

"Yo, Barnes! You got a visitor!"

Bucky frowned and checked his phone. Becca would have called or texted if she was coming in straight from school. He climbed out of the pit and headed over to the front of the garage where the office was situated. Clint was grinning over the V-Strom he was overhauling and Bucky could see Pepper peeking out through the office window with a big smile on her face. It wasn't until he rounded the corner that he saw the mop of blond hair and the blue scarf. He was glad that Tony was out right now.

Steve saw him and smiled. "Hey," he said with a little wave.

"Uh, hi," Bucky replied, painfully aware of how grubby he must look.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to call. I had an insane deadline for a job I took yesterday morning and I've been asleep most of today."

"That's okay. We hadn't made plans until tomorrow anyway."

Steve's eyes were bright. "I kind of couldn't wait so I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go for dinner when you're finished here?"

Bucky blinked. "Oh. Yeah, that would be great. Um, give me thirty minutes?"

"Sure. I'll come back; there's a bookstore down the street that I want to check out. See you then?"

Bucky watched as he walked out of the garage headed down the street and Clint gave him a loud wolf-whistle. He could hear Pepper laughing in the office. Bucky gave them both the finger and wandered back over to the Impala, glad that he'd bought a half decent change of clothes with him.

***

They ended up in a small Chinese restaurant not too far from the garage and dinner was great; they talked and laughed - Bucky broke through some more of his defences and finally started to be himself a little more. Steve seemed to like him regardless though and when the date ended, as much as Bucky wanted to kiss Steve when he took him home, they merely parted ways, smiling and slightly doe-eyed. Which kind of made it worth it when they went out again the following week and ended up making out in Bucky's Camero at the end of the evening. Steve was leaning across the front seat, his hands tangled in Bucky's hair and kissing him like there was no tomorrow, his lips sweet and warm and his tongue gentle but insistent in Bucky's mouth.

They finally parted, pink and breathless and Steve grinned at him. "You know, the whole time we were stood in that line outside the video game store I was trying to work up the courage to talk to you. It was only in the last fifteen minutes that I actually did."

"Really?" Bucky had barely been paying any attention to anything that night and had almost come close to blowing it with Steve anyway.

Steve nodded and kissed him again, softer this time. "Yeah, I'd been checking you out for like two hours. You were playing with your phone most of the time and making a lot of grunting noises. It was sexy as hell."

Bucky smiled. "I was cold. I almost told you to fuck off when you started to talk to me."

Steve threw back his head and laughed. "I'm glad you didn't. At least long enough for my glove plan to work."

Bucky grabbed his scarf and pulled him back in for another kiss. "You're so smart." Bucky kissed Steve's neck, smiling at the breathy giggles he made. "I watched all of your videos."

"Oh, did you now?"

"Uh-huh. You're totally adorable, you know that?"

Steve pushed himself further into Bucky and they both jumped and broke into fits of laughter when Bucky elbowed the steering wheel and the horn blared.

***

Steve and Becca collapsed into laughter as Bucky's car careened off of the table top _again_ in Micro Machines 2. Steve had dug out his old Sega Genesis console and had decided that Bucky was going to join in with them on multiplayer mode. He had been trying to wear Bucky down into actually playing some video games for the three months they had been seeing each other and he'd finally caved, only to discover now why he didn't like the damn things.

He threw his controller on the floor. "I give up - the controls are too weird. I'm complete shit at this and I'm just going to get laughed at the whole time."

Becca snorted. "Oh, don't throw a hissy fit. It's not that hard. This game is older than I am and I'm nailing it."

Steve leaned in and nuzzled him. "Come on, Buck. You just need a couple more practice laps, is all."

Becca's phone started to ring and she snatched it up. "Kitty? No, I'm good to talk. Just playing Micro Machines 2 with my brother and his boyfriend. Ha ha! Yeah, he totally sucks at it." She clambered over the back of the couch, dodging Bucky as he tried to punch her on the arm. "Oh, I _finally_ downloaded Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and it's insane! You have to come over and play it..." Her voice trailed off as she headed to her room, leaving Bucky and Steve in the living room.

Steve picked up Bucky's controller and handed it back to him. "One more try."

Bucky groaned. "Stevie, I'm _so bad_ at this. I'm not having any fun at all."

Steve put down his own controller and smiled. "Okay. We'll play something else. Something you're good at."

Bucky smirked and grabbed Steve, pulling him down on top of him. "Now we're talking." He kissed Steve deeply, enjoying the amused little noises he made.

Steve pulled away and looked over the back of the couch. "What if Becca comes back?"

"Pffft, we've got forty-five minutes _at least_ if she's on the phone. Besides, I won't use any of my Special Moves on you until we get back to my place later." He kissed Steve's neck and ran his tongue along his jaw.

Steve laughed softly. "The last time you used those moves on me, I was barely fit for anything the next day."

Bucky smiled slyly. "Well, I'm dead set on beating my High Score so I wouldn't count on making any plans for tomorrow."

Steve was okay with that.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> More excuses for nerdery and fluff.


End file.
